Wayne County, Ohio – An asbestos-removal company based in Toledo, Ohio, was fined a total of $12,600 for the mishandling of hazardous materials.

The asbestos-removal company is Total Environmental Services. According to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, the company failed to comply with the state’s asbestos emission control regulations during an asbestos abatement project carried out in 2006.

Most states have laws pertaining to the safe removal, containment, and disposal of asbestos-containing construction materials and waste.

Ohio is no exception: there are certain safety-enhancing practices that must be carried out by asbestos abatement and removal companies that are working with the toxin. Failure to comply with the laws can result in fines, as is the case for Total Environmental Services, and may even result in jail time depending on the circumstances and the severity of the violations.

Safe removal of asbestos includes a requirement to wet asbestos-containing materials during the process of removal and containment. Wetting the materials greatly limits the potential for inhalable asbestos fibers becoming airborne.

In its dry state, when asbestos is disturbed it can break up into tiny fibers that have a much higher chance of becoming airborne. The health risks of airborne asbestos include the development of a cancer called mesothelioma, which can develop in the lining of the lungs after exposure to inhalable asbestos fibers.

According to the EPA, “The company [Total Environmental Services] failed to adequately wet asbestos-containing material that had been stripped from Gourley Hall at Ohio State University’s Agricultural Research and Development Center in Wooster. The company also neglected to wet the asbestos-containing waste while collecting and bagging it for disposal.”

Inspectors for the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency discovered and documented the violations in February of 2006. The violations were discovered when inspectors examined disposal bags containing asbestos waste at the Gourley Hall site. The company corrected the problem immediately by wetting the contents of the disposal bags, but the violations still stand.

In its April 4 press release about the incident and the fines, the Ohio EPA indicated that the fine money would contribute to several different environmental funds. The $12,600 that Total Environmental Services must pay includes $2,520 to be paid to the Ohio EPA’s clean diesel school bus program, $5,040 for the Ohio Environmental Education Fund, and $5040 to help administer the Ohio EPA’s air pollution control programs.

This entry was posted on Monday, April 28th, 2008 at 4:53 pm and is filed under Asbestos Abatement, Asbestos Exposure, Ohio. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS feed. Responses are currently closed, but you trackback from your own site.